INTRODUCTION: Experimental laparoscopy surgeries date of the beginning of the XX century but only in 1960 they started to be tried in humans. In 1985, in Germany, the first colecistectomy was carried through and since then the technique had large spreading and acceptance. The pneumoperitonium has impact in many systems and such must be considered during the anesthesia. AIM: To carry out a literature review of the physiological changes of interest for the anesthesiologist during the videolaparoscopy. METHODS: Bibliographical research was done in available anesthesia textbooks in the library in the Faculty of Medicine of the State University of Campinas and published articles of interest beginning on 1990 in PubMed electronic address http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed using the following headings: anesthesia, surgery, laparoscopy. Twenty six articles and a book chapter had been reviewed. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopy has advantages related to reduction in postoperative pain, early hospital discharge and labor activities. Nevertheless, particular care should be taken by the anesthesiologist in hipovolemic patients and those with cardiovascular diseases. The use of capnometry is imperative.
Anesthesia; Surgery; Laparoscopy